Re: Possible New Minor Power

>KHR:
>And with celibacy and other deterrents to being a monk, only a small
>part of the military (most likely the leadership) will be actual
>members of the orders. The others will be hired professionals,
>mercenaries or militias.

The Hospitallers descendents also include the very active St John's 
Ambulance Brigade in the UK: their charitable/peace/medical mission
seems 
to have been growing over the last century.  Given they started as a 
hospital order, moved into a military order, then back into a very 
committed hospital order it might be that they would struggle to go back

into being a military order, though the edges of "military defence of
the 
sick", one of their tenets from their acceptance as a military order in 
1137 IIRC (as opposed to a non-military order), could be stretched.

If they did, then LaserL's Mission Lance looks ideal, perhaps with the 
inclusion of another pair of medical specialists. Alternatively, one
could 
easily surmise knights/senior brethren as PA troops; a general body of 
"sergeants" (as opposed to _a_ sergeant) being supporting heavy/armoured

infantry or specialists; perhaps a class of "Turcopoles" as Light 
Cavalry/Scouts/Obs/LI; and professionals and mercenaries as the
escorting 
"line" infantry and hospital defenses.

Twists? The Knights Hospitaller dealt with the Assassins; the demand
they 
do not raise arms against other Christians; perhaps the order's refusal
to 
take part in any conflict in which the KH were *not* defending the sick;
a 
sergeant "turning", much as Roger Flower (later Roger de Fleur/Flor ;-)
) 
did at the evacuation of Acre (fyi: he charged extortionate amounts to 
wealthy citizens to allow them to be rescued on one of the order's
galleys, 
and later went on to head up the Catalan Grand Company).

Not to mention that they could be seen as the armoured field hospitals
of 
the future, perhaps even non-partisan?

Have fun,
Tim Bancroft